#31DaysOfChristmas Movie Review: A Sprinkle of Christmas

 

Watched on: Netflix

Originally aired: December 10, 2024

Directed by: Nicholas Humphries

Starring: Hayley Sales, Marshall Williams and Rhys Cawley

Please see IMDb for full cast and crew info. 

Synopsis

Libby, an up-and-coming baker, has opened up her storefront business just in time for the Christmas season. Trying to get everything off the ground, she finds herself in a heated anonymous online feud with Peter, an A-List actor, after (hiding his real identity) he gives the bakery a scathing review. At the same time, in real life, Libby takes on a game-changing side-gig: catering cake and confections for Peter's brother's high profile holiday engagement party. Neither realize they're already in a fight with each other.

Review

I want to say we were about five minutes into this movie when I spotted the cause of the initial problem for this movie. I've worked in restaurants and you don't just add an extra table to your setup on a whim, rearrange the table numbers, and not make sure your two employees are clear on the numbering system. That's literally a recipe for disaster. And what do you know, I was right. The way things went down during his visit, Peter's review was spot on, and the owners of the patisserie have only themselves to blame. It doesn't stop them from getting their panties in a twist over it though. Although with only four tables and two employees, I would have expected there to be more personal service for each table, which would have prevented the entire debacle in the first place. But moving on. 

Libby is trying to make big moves with her baking, and gets an opportunity to interview to be the dessert caterer for a celebrity's brother's engagement party. But she's spent her life in the kitchen, so she's not really up to date on who's who in Hollywood, which just happens to land her the gig. Apparently celebrities aren't used to be treated like normal people. Who knew? In her attempts to get answers from Peter about what types of desserts she should make for the party, they end up at the local holiday festival (because these movies have to have a local holiday festival, it's like the law or something), where they get funnel cake, and have a great chat with a hot beverage by the a fire. 

When that doesn't get any concrete answers from Peter, Libby attempts to inspire him by inviting him into the kitchen to bake together. Obviously they really hit it off, and she finally gets some usable information. And all this time, she's been fighting with Peter online, both of them under pseudonyms, and business at the bakery has been booming because "everyone loves an underdog." 

I think you can all guess how the movie ends, right? Unless you've never even heard of a cheesy Christmas movie, in which case congratulations on waking up from your two decade long coma, we're happy to have you back. And was this a Christmas movie? It borders on no, but the surprise party dessert edges it into the yes column, barely. 

Overall I give a Sprinkle of Christmas 2.5 Santa hats. - Katie 

#31DaysOfChristmas Movie Review: A Royal Date for Christmas

 

Watched on: Netflix

Originally aired: November 25, 2023

Directed by: Bradley Walsh

Starring: Danica McKellar, Damon Runyan, and Nigel Hamer

Please see IMDb for full cast and crew info.

Synopsis

Bella Sparks, runs Bella's Boutique. Stefan needs to be outfitted for a week of high-stakes meetings after his luggage goes missing. She accidentally discovers Stefan is actually Stefan William Francis Brown, the Duke of Tangford.

Review

A Royal Date for Christmas gives us a Pretty Woman storyline without the prostitution base. And why does Bella agree to be this originally rude stranger's plus one for all these events he's attending? Because she's trying to open a mobile boutique in addition to her storefront and the money he's offering would really help with that. Ignoring the fact that she could also just have overcharged him for all the clothes he desperately needed after his luggage was lost on his flight across the Atlantic (he was very rude and would have deserved it thank you very much). 

So is this a Christmas movie? Some of the activities that Bella and Stefan engage in during his stay in the US include building a snowman, cutting down a Christmas tree for the manor, and Christmas cake baking and decorating. Not to mention the fact that his big fundraiser event is at risk of being cancelled due to some less than favorable press about him post break-up, and it has plenty of the typical Christmas cheese to qualify as a Christmas movie. 

Of the three movies I've reviewed so far this year, this falls right in the middle of the pack with a 3.5 Santa hat rating. - Katie 

#31DaysOfChristmas Movie Review: A Merry Little Ex-Mas

 

Watched on: Netflix

Originally aired: November 12, 2025

Directed by: Steve Carr

Starring: Alicia Silverstone, Oliver Hudson, Jameela Jamil

Please see IMDb for full cast and crew info.

Synopsis

A separated couple tries celebrating one last Christmas together with their kids before their divorce. However, the husband's new girlfriend joins the festivities, causing tension and chaos during the holidays.

Review

If you want to watch a movie with manufactured holiday cheer, this is the movie for you. To be fair, the holiday cheer is manufactured as a major plot point of the story as Kate and Everett are separated, and this is their first Christmas together post their conscious uncoupling. Kate is striving to provide the same Christmas experience their children grew up with, in spite of the twist that is Everett's new girlfriend, a secret he kept from Kate in spite of them promising to keep no secrets from each other. Kate isn't innocent here though, as she has a secret of her own. 

One of my favorite things about this movie is that Alicia Silverstone gave us a middle-aged mom who looks like an average middle-aged mom. She clearly eats at least some of the delicious foods she makes, and doesn't spend hours running to earn her food and maintain a sleek figure. I appreciate seeing a star from my childhood allowing herself to gain a little weight and not maintain the stick-thin figure society expects from Hollywood. 

Some of the manufactured holiday cheer includes a gingerbread house competition, sledding, and helping the whole town when a storm causes the power to go out, because Kate has an obscene number of solar panels on her roof and battery backup to boot. So she's the only one prepared. 

Now is this a Christmas movie? Yes, absolutely. It hit enough of the cheesy tropes and had a very heartwarming ending, which we obviously expect from our Christmas movies, right? 

Overall I give A Merry Little Ex-Mas 4 out of 5 Santa hats. - Katie 

#31DaysOfChristmas Movie Review: Holiday in Santa Fe

 

Watched on: Netflix

Originally aired: December 10, 2021

Directed by: Jody Margolin Hahn

Starring: Mario Lopez, Emeraude Toubia, and Aimee Garcia

Please see IMDb for full cast and crew information.

Synopsis

Tony runs a Christmas shop with a Mexican twist in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his sister and father. Now Belinda, a representative from the big company Warm Wishes, is on her way to talk about buying their business. Tony is prepared to listen to what they can offer but his sister is not. Belinda arrives from Chicago with the mission to buy the company before the New Year. Tony wants to show her the soul of their business to try to preserve their mothers legacy even after the deal. He engages Belinda in the Christmas celebrations and she starts to get a new take on the deal, and a new interest in Tony.

Review

This was my first Christmas movie of the season, and it honestly left me wanting. I think some of that is because actual Christmas in Santa Fe is apparently a bit different than the Christmas that I'm used to (based on some very brief internet research), and the movie holds more true to that than it does trying to bring us the holiday magic of your typical cheesy Christmas movie. I also struggle with the idea that Santa Fe is a small town, because I know of Santa Fe, and I've never lived in New Mexico. But it does have the classic small town holiday festival in Winterfest. 

Some of the highlights from Winterfest are a ham throw, which is described by Lopez as throwing the ham like a football, but it's really more of a shot-put action. I'm happy to report that there were obviously no hams harmed in the making of this movie as the prop they used was clearly far too light to be an actual ham. There was also a chili tasting contest, at least between the two main characters. Again, not normal Christmas movie fare, but it does hit the right feels for like a cookie baking competition. 

And it obviously wouldn't be a Christmas movie if there wasn't some major small town icon at risk of closing, and that's La Casa Milagro. Except it wouldn't really be closing. In fact, the entire premise of the movie is that the FMC is only in town to arrange a buy-out of the shop to make it part of a Kathe Wohlfahrt style business. Unlike most Christmas movies, some members of the family are even on board for the buyout, at first at least. 

So is this a Christmas movie? Not in the traditional sense. Like I said, it seems to hold true to what Christmas in Santa Fe really is, but that's not what I was looking for in a Christmas movie. But as I've never experienced Christmas in Santa Fe, I don't want to answer the question with a resounding no. 

Overall I give Holiday in Santa Fe 3 Santa hats. - Katie 

*Top Ten Tuesday* Books I'd Like to Reread

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews bossed me into doing this, so I guess this is a thing I do now. 

This week’s theme is books that I'd like to reread. The thing is, I'm not a big rereader. I've done several of them recently because I've had book clubs select books that I read before, but too long ago to remember well enough to discuss, but there are so many books out there that I want to read, that rereading feels like a big waste of time for me on a personal level. But I also believe that the way we relate to books is greatly affected by when we read them, and I've been considering some rereads of books I read (and loved) when I was in school to see how they've aged. So this list is going to be books from my childhood I think I ought to reread. Let's go. 

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

My 8th grade English teacher recommended this book for me, and I absolutely loved it. But I was talking about it with a gentlemen I'm in a book club with a couple weeks ago and we had very different views on the story, and I'm the one who hasn't read it since they were 14. So it might be time for a reread.

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I absolutely loved this series when I was in elementary school (I dressed up as Laura for Halloween in 4th or 5th grade). When my son was in elementary school, they read an excerpt from I think Little House in the Big Woods, and I mentioned that we had the whole series if he wanted to read it. I don't think he got very far, but he did tell me that he thinks Pa is crazy and not a great parent. I don't recall picking up on that when I was a kid, so now I wanna reread to try and understand what my kid saw. 

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

I remember this book being a lot like the Little House on the Prairie series, featuring a young girl when horses were common transportation. It would be interesting to see if one aged better than the other. 

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

I read several of the books in McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series when I was in middle school, after my mother suggested them to me. And I definitely remember there being talk about coupling between the dragon riders, so I think I should reread to see how accurate that memory is. Also, I just really love the historical fiction feeling science fiction. 

Matilda by Roald Dahl

I used to reread books a lot, mostly this one. I read it so many times, my copy literally fell apart. I obviously related to Matilda being a young girl who absolutely loved to read and got in trouble for it from authority figures (it was a major talking point at parent teacher conferences when I was in 2nd grade). I think it would be interesting to see if I still relate to Matilda. 

And it turns out there are only five books I read during my childhood that I can remember reading, how they made me feel, and have solid reasons for why I think I ought to reread them. But I'm okay with that, because it's really way more than 5 books with the two series I included. 

What books did you read in your childhood that you've reread as an adult? How did your perception of things change? 

Have you read any of these books as either a child or an adult? 

If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can check out your rereading list. - Katie 

*Top Ten Tuesday* Freebie/Throwback (Christmas in July!)

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews bossed me into doing this, so I guess this is a thing I do now. 

This week’s theme is freebie or throwback, and I'm doing a little bit of both. I was inspired by the Holiday Reads theme title from 2019, and since I'm getting ready to head to my parents this 4th of July weekend for family Christmas in July, it just felt really appropriate. So here are ten Christmas books I could read this July (although I probably won't because I have 16 book club books to read for upcoming meetings so...). Let's go!

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

A Christmas Hope by Joseph Pittman

The Christmas Genie by Dan Gutman

Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

A Christmas Baby by Annette Blair

A Wells Landing Christmas by Amy Lillard

A Wedding for Christmas by Lori Wilde

One More for Christmas by Sarah Morgan

Christmas on Mistletoe Lane by Annie Rains

White Christmas Wedding by Celeste Winters

And there we go, ten Christmas books I could read this July. This was a super easy post to build though, because I have an entire shelf dedicated to holiday books, and Christmas books are the easiest to find, so I had lots of options. 

Would you read any of these for a little holiday magic this summer?

If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can check out your freebie/throwback list this week. - Katie 

*Stacking the Shelves* 14 June 2025

(Titles link to Amazon via Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is a feature/weekly meme run by Reading Reality in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Now, I already have a monthly post I do featuring the books I get in the mail (and it's a lot because I have a serious Goodreads First Reads giveaway addiction), and I'm posting my monthly Read-A-Thon posts again too, which covers the books I receive through Netgalley. So my STS post will feature all the books I've been one-clicking on Amazon or winning through Goodreads giveaways, with the occasional store bought physical book thrown in. 

On that note, here are the books I picked up this week. I will be separating the books based on purchased, Goodreads wins, and freebies. Let's go!

Purchased

One of Us is Dead by Jeneva Rose - I got this for the bargain price of just $1.99. 

Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell - I got this for a mere $0.99. I've heard it's a really good horror book, so I hope I wasn't lied to. 

Darker by E.L. James - I grabbed this on sale for just $1.99. I know these books aren't particularly well written, but when I read the original series years ago, I wanted Christian's POV, so now I can read it. 

Freed by E.l. James - I grabbed this for a mere $1.99 too, so I have the full Christian's POV trilogy. Now I just gotta' read them. 

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - I got this on sale for just a mere $1.99. I read another book by her and I've had my eye on this one for a while, so getting it on sale was nice. 

Delicious Monsters by Leslie Sambury - I got this on sale for a mere $1.99. It first caught my eye when it was available for free through Epic Reads, but I ran out of time to read it that month. 

Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen - I got this on sale for just $1.99. The cover was just so appealing. 

The Monkey's Paw and Other Tales by W.W. Jacobs - I grabbed this on sale for just $3.99. I'm mildly familiar with the tale of the monkey's paw, and now I can get real familiar. 

The Wizard of Oz: The Official Cookbook by Elena Craig and Emma Bernay - I grabbed this on sale for just $4.99. The Wizard of Oz was my favorite movie when I was growing up, so I'm excited to dive into this cookbook. 

The Unofficial Simpsons Cookbook by Laurel Randolph - I got this on sale for just $1.99. Who wouldn't want a Simpson's cookbook?

It's a Date (Again) by Jeneva Rose - I got this for $4.99, but it only cost me $3.99 because I had a dollar credit for something. I haven't read romance from Jeneva Rose, but now I can.

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green - I grabbed this for just $1.99. I've heard good things about John Green's non-fiction work. 

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See - I got this on sale for just $1.99. I read Shanghai Girls and really enjoyed it, so I'm excited to get into this sequel.

Abandon by Blake Crouch - I managed to grab this for the sale price of $1.99. After reading Dark Matter, I'm buying basically everything I find on sale by Blake Crouch. 

The I Inside by Alan Dean Foster - I got this on sale for just $2.99. Foster is one of the classic sci-fi authors that one of my parents read a lot of. I just hope this aged better than Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein. 

The Islam Quintet by Tariq Ali - I got this on sale for just $3.99. I'm never mad about getting over 1500 pages of reading for just $4. 

The Senator's Wife by Liv Constantine - I grabbed this book because I've heard a lot of good things about this author and it was on sale for just $1.99. I'm not mad about that. 

Cat-A-Lyst by Alan Dean Foster - I got this for the bargain price of just $3.99, again because I know at least one of my parents like Alan Dean Foster as an author. 

Goodreads Wins

Rediscover Your Wisdom by Rabbi Joel Stein

Unfiltered and Unapologetic by Judy McCutcheon

The Great Crypto Illusion by JA Engelbrecht

The Moon Goddess's Smile by Catherine C. Wu

Murder at Mablethorpe Castle by Elizabeth Rose

The Golden Dilemma by Lamar and Liana Golden

The Phoenix Elite by C.T. Clark

Some Girls Drown by Jessica Bell

The Blitz by Tamar Gakharia

The Heirs of the Lost Legacy by Anton Sammut

Dingo Toad Joins the Rangers by Lamar and Liana Golden

Bricks and Clicks by Clifford Hudson and Craig Miller

She's So Bad by Ronita Fabian

I was supposed to be getting all caught up on my Stacking the Shelves post with my newest ebook purchases and wins after having like four different free book blasts happen just before the last one was posted, and I didn't get that done, because I spent most of today out of the house doing things with my husband and son. So now the goal is to get caught up with this next week in my STS post. We'll see if I can follow through. 

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any of them you think I should read sooner rather than later? 

If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can check out your new pretties. - Katie